Skiers are frequently required to carry their skis and poles over great distances in order to reach a desired ski area. For example, it is not uncommon for skiers to walk hundreds of yards from a parking lot or a bus stop to a base lift at a ski resort. Even after reaching the ski slopes, some skiers may wish to ski areas not serviced by ski lifts. In that case, the skiers must hike to the desired location while carrying their skis and poles. However, carrying a pair of skis is often cumbersome and tiring due to the great weight and long length of a typical pair of skis. This difficulty is only compounded when a skier must carry both a pair of skis and a set of ski poles or more than one pair of skis (e.g., a child's pair of skis in addition to their own).
Skiers typically carry a pair of skis by holding one end of the ski pair with one hand while balancing the bulk of the skis on one shoulder. The other hand is typically used to hold the ski poles and possibly a pair of ski boots or other equipment. A skier may quickly become fatigued when carrying skis in this manner, particularly when walking long distances. Additionally, carrying skis on a shoulder can be hazardous in crowded or confined areas due to the possibility of accidentally striking the head of another. Furthermore, when carrying a pair of skis and poles in this manner, a skier does not have a free hand with which to carry other items or to grasp a railing while traversing stairs. Having both hands occupied, while maintaining the center of gravity of the heavy skis at shoulder level, increases the chances for a serious slip and fall accident, particularly when walking through snow or on wet or icy surfaces.
These problems have been addressed, to a limited extent, by prior art ski bags which are large enough to hold both a pair of skis and a pair of ski poles. However, a bag of this size is too large to be stored on a skier's person, and thus must be temporarily stored while skiing. If a skier is unable or unwilling to store the ski bag, the bag cannot be used to carry the skis and poles to the ski lifts. Furthermore, since it cannot be stored on a skier's person, a ski bag of this size cannot be used on the slopes to carry skis and poles between ski runs.
A number of known ski-carrying devices have attempted to alleviate the problems inherent with carrying skis and poles. However, these devices suffer from one or more disadvantages which currently preclude their acceptance by skiers. For example, some ski carriers do not allow for the simultaneous carriage of both skis and ski poles, thereby requiring the skier to carry the ski poles in a free hand. Alternatively, some ski carriers require the poles to be used as an integral part of the ski-carrying device, thereby requiring the skier to carry the poles even if the skier does not want to use the poles while skiing.
Some known ski carriers utilize a single adjustable strap attached to a pair of skis forward and rearward of the ski bindings. Once secured to the skis, the strap may be suspended from a skier's shoulder while the skis rest against the skier's back. However, suspended in this manner, the ski bindings tend to press against the skier's back causing great discomfort while carrying the skis. Some known devices have attempted to alleviate this problem by holding the skis so that the edges rather than the bindings of the skis are maintained against the skier's back. However, by supporting the skis only along their narrow edges, the skis are more easily de-stabilized during transport and are more likely to slip off a skier's shoulder. Furthermore, the sharp edges of the skis may injure a skier or damage a skier's outer garment.
It is typical for current ski-carrying straps that fits all sizes of skis to include complex and bulky adjustment and fastening means to adjust the length of the strap and attach the strap to the skis. These features are expensive to manufacture and frequently make the current ski-carrying straps difficult to use, particularly in cold weather or when wearing ski gloves. Furthermore, while some known ski-carrying devices purport to be compactable so that they may be carried on a skier's person, they are typically too bulky to be comfortably carried while skiing. Additionally, the inclusion of features such as metal or plastic fasteners and adjustment means can make carrying these devices hazardous since falling on top of such hardware while skiing may injure the skier.
Thus, due to their various disadvantages, known ski-carrying devices are seldom used. Rather than pay the high price associated with these complex and uncomfortable ski carriers, skiers typically choose to carry their skis and poles by hand substantially as described above.
The difficulties associated with carrying skis over long distances are equally applicable to snowboarders who must similarly carry their snowboards either to the lifts or up the slopes when snowboarding in areas not serviced by lifts. Although snowboarders do not use ski poles, snowboards are typically more burdensome to carry than a pair of skis due to the greater bulk of a snowboard. Presently, there are no known snowboard carriers other than large bags within which an entire snowboard may be stored.
It is with regard to this background information that the improvements available from the present invention have evolved.